Avid fisherman and Port Alberni resident, Doug Blackwell, takes his love for salmon and turns it into art.
Creating fish prints on canvas, fibreglass or pieces of flat aluminum, Blackwell first paints the fish—typically various kinds of salmon—with acrylic paint before stamping it onto a piece of rice paper. He uses the rice paper as a silk screen to transfer the image onto his canvas.
“It’s a Japanese style fish print, it’s called gyotaku,” Blackwell said. “Traditionally they use black ink and I started using colour.”
During the fishing season, Blackwell heads to Alaska each year where he’s worked as a commercial gill netter for more than 20 years. He said the inspiration for his salmon prints came from his job as a fisherman.
“Fishing is so seasonal so you need a winter job,” he said. “It took me a long time to figure it out that [painting] is what I should do in the winter. I thought, well I’ve got a freezer full of sockeye, so I started experimenting and that’s how it kind of evolved.”
He said because of the toxicity of acrylic paint the fish can’t be eaten after painting on it.
Having experimented with art throughout his life, Blackwell said he also makes cedar carvings, a task that can be difficult after months of fishing.
“After fishing your hands are really tired and carving is really hard on your hands so I moved into doing acrylics which is easier,” he said.
Just starting to work his way into Port Alberni’s art scene, Blackwell said he’s noticed a growth in the town’s art sector.
He recently wrapped up his first exhibit at the Rollin Art Centre, making way for the next featured artist, his wife, Ariane Terez.
Terez, who is inspired by nature and the coast, will have her exhibit, Facing West, in the Rollin gallery until March 3.
Blackwell said he met Terez on a fishing boat while in Alaska and that they continue to travel a lot.
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